Mariel sighed a bit as she stepped through the doorway of her current office. The room was awful but so was the rest of the building so she couldn't exactly complain. Besides, who was she going to complain to? She was remotely thankful that her own employees weren't complaining to her - at least to her face - so she figured the least she could do was to provide a good example and persevere even in the face of tribulation. But did it have to be so filthy?

At least she had the flowers Jorge had sent to her to brighten up her office a bit. Even with the sun shining through her dingy windows, these were the only bright spot in her office right now and she had to admit they did look beautiful sitting on her desk. A faint smile fell over her lips as she looked at them for a moment. He really was very sweet to her at times.

Alright. Time to get to work. She supposed she should start with the chairs so she could at least sit down because she certainly wasn't sitting on them the way they were currently. Pulling out her wand, she cast a few Scourgify charms over the chair she had claimed for herself as she moved all along over it.

Langen was here. And the brunette felt like she was going to puke out of every orifice in her face. Why was she here? Was this just an introduction thing? Or did she do something wrong. She had already looked around. Though the brown-eyed girl had kind of forgotten what office she was supposed to go to. But she would ask if she had time. She had actually just come into the office today. First time.

And she smoothed out her blue skirt and the white button down shirt she was afraid she was going to throw up on. She was obsssesively smoothing out her skirt. And her hands were sweaty. But she still had a smile on her pale face. Because her mom had taught her to always smile in these situations.

She was really excited for her job either way. Because she loved games and sports and Langen knew was ready for the ministry. The girl was ready to work here until she retired. She was ready to be a good employee.

But that was all future talk and she wasn't really ready for that. Not anywhere near ready for that. Right now she had to focus on the meeting with her boss. She was going over things in her mind that would be good worker to boss conversation pieces. Stupid things that didn't need to be said. Small talk if you would.

But anyway, the boss. She straightened her already tall and althetic body to make herself look more confident. It was an old trick she had thought of in Hogwarts. Looking taller made you look more confident. And stretching out your legs. Which she quickly did. Five seconds of touching her toes (or getting as close as she could) and then straightening up quickly again.

Congratulations were in order.

After the department meeting, which Adam had kept relatively quiet during - his mind was with his newly pregnant wife, in all honesty, and what colour to paint the nursery, and that was probably not a good idea for the first day in such a remote place - the man stood up, brushed his hair out of his face and adjusted his tie, before making his way over to the area his new department head had claimed as her office, and knocking on the door.

And the desk. The desk was so filthy, even with her flowers sitting on them. Perhaps she should have done some cleaning charms before she set the bouquet down, but it didn't matter now. Mariel applied several cleaning charms over the top of the desk, working around things, until it was at least satisfactory enough to do some paperwork on. It was still dingy looking, but she knew it was at least clean enough to set her work down.

Mariel pulled out some files that happened to have been retrieved before the lockout and she looked over the papers inside as she sat at her desk. They were all really going to have their work cut out for them if they couldn't return to their old building soon. Sure, much of their files had been destroyed or were at least bad enough to have to have been replaced, but now they had nearly nothing to work from and would have to start from scratch if this was more than a temporary arrangement.

Knowing her door was not shut but hearing a noise at her doorway, the brunette looked up to see her newest employee.. stretching out a bit? Mariel tilted her head a bit then gave the girl a smile. "Langen.. Come on in," she gestured with her hand for her to come closer. "I haven't had a chance to clean any of those chairs," she added, inclining her head towards the two reserved for visitors. "But feel free to sit if you'd like.." If she wanted to Scourgify them herself first maybe.. though she also wasn't sure how sturdy they were. They didn't look in such great shape to begin with and she hadn't tested them out.

"So.. you've gotten a chance to look around?" She wasn't so sure the girl would be impressed, Mariel certainly wasn't, but they didn't have a choice. She just wanted Langen to know where she was expected to work. "I did want to talk to you a bit about your duties and expectations for the job.." Or did she have any questions first?

Really, she was going to have to spend her entire first week cleaning just her office, wasn't she? Mariel briefly wondered how her employees were doing in their individual work area as well, though she would be fine if they spent the first half of the first day just getting acclimated. She knew what was in store for them so cleaning could wait till after lunch at least, though they had quite a bit of it so the sooner they started, the sooner they could get on with their actual work.

Maybe if she cleaned the windows, it wouldn't look quite as gloomy in here. She cast Vitrumonia several times around her windows before a piece of the crumbling wall caught her eye. Er.. this place was actually safe, wasn't it? The Minister made sure of that? Or perhaps it was Gavin's job to pick the place out.. That's all she needed, for the building to actually fall down around them.

The 28 year old was a bit lost in this thought when she heard a knock at the door. Glancing behind her at the now closed door, she was snapped from her reverie. Oh.. Langen must have closed it on her way out. Mariel took the few steps towards her door, then opened it, smiling as she saw who it was. Good to see her employees taking pride in their appearances. "Adam.. Come on in," she said, opening her door a bit wider to allow him entrance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by emjay

Really, she was going to have to spend her entire first week cleaning just her office, wasn't she? Mariel briefly wondered how her employees were doing in their individual work area as well, though she would be fine if they spent the first half of the first day just getting acclimated. She knew what was in store for them so cleaning could wait till after lunch at least, though they had quite a bit of it so the sooner they started, the sooner they could get on with their actual work.

Maybe if she cleaned the windows, it wouldn't look quite as gloomy in here. She cast Vitrumonia several times around her windows before a piece of the crumbling wall caught her eye. Er.. this place was actually safe, wasn't it? The Minister made sure of that? Or perhaps it was Gavin's job to pick the place out.. That's all she needed, for the building to actually fall down around them.

The 28 year old was a bit lost in this thought when she heard a knock at the door. Glancing behind her at the now closed door, she was snapped from her reverie. Oh.. Langen must have closed it on her way out. Mariel took the few steps towards her door, then opened it, smiling as she saw who it was. Good to see her employees taking pride in their appearances. "Adam.. Come on in," she said, opening her door a bit wider to allow him entrance.

As he waited outside, Adam hoped that he wasn't interrupting anything, but he hadn't seen anyone apart from Mariel go into her office since the new girl... what was her name? - had left. He made a mental note to welcome the girl to the department later, just as the door swung open.

"Thanks," Adam said with a grin, before taking the door from her - you know, such a gentleman - stepping inside and making sure it didn't slam behind him. As he turned back to his Department Head, he took a look around, and his grin faltered to a grimace. "It's not the best of places to work, but I'm sure we can make do," he offered, his gaze lingering on a bit of the crumbling wall, before reminding himself that they wouldn't, couldn't let them work here if it wasn't safe.

The kids would NOT be going to the daycare, though.

"If you need any help with cleaning or getting the place sorted..." He was the man, and what not. "I just thought I'd come and congratulate you, anyway." Not comment on the decor.

Langen smiled as she made her way into the office. Yes, she was just stretching out in the hallway. And she was going to act like this was a completely normal thing to do. No mention of it at all. But either way, she wanted to ask the boss about her job. Because besides so something in quidditch, she actually had no idea what she was supposed to do. And that was not going to work.

The brunette smiled and quickly used Scourgify on the chair. Then she pushed her skirt back so she wouldn't be sitting on the back and tried to sit down as gracefully as possible. The chair wobbled slightly, and she pursed her lips quickly as she tried to keep her balance. This was fairly easy considering her athletic background. After the former Slytherin balanced herself, she smiled again and put her hands on her knees.

Awesome! She didn't actually have to ask the questions. Because that's what they were talking about. Really good timing for the boss there. Because Langen was still working on remembering names. So right now, it was Boss. Even though that made the twenty year old sound like a stereotypical 1950's henchmen.

"I don't have any questions, thank you though." She paused and laughed a bit. "Actually my question was about the topic at hand. So I guess this is the best timing." Langen let another chuckle from her lips and waited for the boss to continue. Because the conversation couldn't continue without her.

She hoped she wasn't being too informal. Because formalities were important in the workforce. But she didn't want to be too formal, because that wasn't her. She wasn't normally formal. In fact, the brown-eyed girl usually called her friends by nicknames and spent Saturdays in pajamas. But she was in her workplace now. Formalities were important.

Mariel stepped back a bit as Adam took the door from her and led the way in. She was about to offer him a seat in one of the newly cleaned though still shaky-looking chairs, but her attention was caught as she followed his line of vision to the wall that she had been looking at just moments ago. Pretty sure she had an idea of what he was thinking, her eyes landed back on his face, noting his expression which only confirmed what she thought. But she was rather pleased by his words.

"I do appreciate your positive outlook," she said, smiling a bit. "You're right, it's not the best.." There was no way around that and she was not going to sugar-coat things for her employees. He did know that this was not her choice for them though, right? This had been thrust upon her in the same way it was to them. "But it does have some advantages, I suppose." As far as muggle places went, though it would not compare to Level Seven for most things. "Would you like a seat? I mean, test it out first.." She gestured to one of the chairs, fairly certain it would hold up, just might be a little wobbly.

The brunette smiled a bit brighter at his words. "Well, thank you," she said as he offered his congratulations. She was very happy with her promotion, even if she had wished it was under better circumstances, but she'd certainly be gracious for one of her now employees to acknowledge it as well. "Oh.. how kind of you to offer," she added as she leaned back against her desk, looking at Adam as she considered his words. "I suppose for now we can all do our best to get our own areas up to par. Did you get a chance to look at the room for Patents?" Unfortunately, his was one of the worst ones in regards to being dirty, though she felt there were things of use in there that he and Ryan could possibly use once they got things set up. "We will have to do some extra catching up though once that's done. Nearly all out paperwork and equipment is still in the Ministry and with no one able to get in, we have to start from scratch and make do with what we have." But if that was resolved sooner than later, maybe they wouldn't have to worry about it.

Tilting her head a bit, Mariel looked at him for a moment. "So.. tell me Adam, how do you like your current position?" She was thinking of changing things around a bit, not that she was looking to completely change his job on him, but she might have to pull him in on some Quidditch things if he was willing and she wanted his thoughts. "But besides that, how have you been? How was your holiday?" She could indulge in some light conversation too, right?

Once Langen walked in a bit further, Mariel took a seat in her own chair, turning towards the young woman as she set about cleaning one of the other chairs before she sat. She made a mental note to clean the other chair first after they were done here so her next visitor wouldn't have that inconvenience.

No questions? The brunette raised an eyebrow at her newest employee before lightly smiling as the girl continued. "Fair enough," she nodded, expecting her to at least wonder about her new job, so at least they were on the same page there. "So, I've given you the position of Quidditch Regulations," she began leaning back a bit in her chair as she kept her green eyes on Langen. "This was actually my position before I took the job I have now as Department Head. I ran that division of the department and I needed someone to take that over for me. Now, I certainly don't expect you to just step into my shoes, I'll work with you to get you up to speed and I'm going to have you work under Victoria for a while too. She runs the PR side of things, but both sides work together for the most part." Any questions so far?

Mariel pulled one of the papers from her folder and glanced over Langen's Ministry application before glancing up. "You've not played professional Quidditch, have you?" It wasn't a requirement, but at times it did make things easier. "Well, we'll go to some of the matches and have you getting to know some of the players. That is one of the nice things about this job," Mariel smiled lightly. Of course, she could still go to them in her new position as well. "A big part of the job is making sure rules are being followed and everything is in order. I'd like you to make sure you know all the Quidditch rules forwards and back." Then she had a task for her to do that she hadn't been able to complete yet.

Langen smiled as her boss was talking to her. She was going to be doing the job that her boss used to do? That was slightly scary for obvious reasons. And about the stepping into her shoes thing, the brunette was usually able to handle herself. She was generally adaptable, though it sometimes took her a couple of days and until then she was quiet. For example, she still had no idea where her office was, but she smiled at everyone and was still remembering names.

Which reminded her. Victoria? Was that the blonde? The one who was friends with the boss? Because names were only starting to click and she thought that was Saxon when she was on the stairs. But by process of elimination and knowing her name and the bosses meant that Victoria should be the blonde. Thank goodness she only smiled to people on the way here. Results would've been disastrous.

"I never played professional quidditch, but if it helps I played it at Hogwarts." The brown eyed girl was quite proud of herself for that one, thank you. She did pretty well on the team and still flew whenever she had a free moment and it wasn't raining. Thank goodness her mom had a large back yard. Because inheriting a house with a small back yard and no room to fly would suck fro her. Especially with this job. The adult wanted to know everything about the sport she was now regulating.

And going to the matches would be awesome! The twenty year old had been wanting to take in a few matches anyway. Now she had to for her job. But there was one question she actually came up with.

"Am I regulating professional quidditch or School level or a combination of both?" Not the most eloquently said sentence but it got the point across fine. And that was good. Especially when asking questions like this. Because the brunette wanted to know what she was doing at all times.

Anyway......

So she needed to know the rules of quidditch front and back? And she was in regulation? Perfect. She already knew most of them and it would only take a small skim through of the large document. Especially with the books she picked up. Some of them had to have some kind of rules in them. But still. Just to show that she was a good worker, Langen would probably read the whole thing. Because she was an excellent little employee. Cue the cute smile.

Mariel crossed one leg over the other as her green eyes skimmed the file, her fingers lightly tapping on the desk. Glancing up as Langen spoke, she gave a gentle shrug. She thought that bit about her not playing professionally was correct, so no real surprises there. "It helps if you played professionally, it does make things somewhat easier, but it's not a requirement," she stated simply, before explaining further. "Of course playing at school you know the basics and are at least familiar with the rules." She was fairly sure everyone in that division of her department had played Quidditch at school though and she really thought that should be a requirement of any position within. "I do expect you to have them memorized for this job though in addition to the penalties for any infractions. Certainly not by the end of the day though," she said with a smile before getting up from her seat. It was something that should become almost second nature to her anyway the longer she worked here.

The Department Head walked over to the rusty old file cabinet that had already come with the place and she crouched down in front of it, tugging on the middle drawer. It was sticking a bit, but after a little persuasion, Mariel was able to manage it open. She pulled out a manual and cast a duplicating charm on it before handing the copy to Langen. "Since we aren't able to get into the Ministry to access most of our files, this will have to do for now." Of course Mariel was keeping the only one she had but the duplicating charm would last at least a few weeks. Langen could come to her if it happened to fade before they could get back in. She hoped that wouldn't be the case. "That has a comprehensive list of all the League regulations." Including player rules, pitch requirements, pretty much anything she needed to know to keep the professional matches running smoothly.

Resuming her seat, the 28 year old gently shook her brunette locks as she heard the young woman's question. "No, no.. we have no jurisdiction over the school." And really, they had no time for such trivialities as far as she was concerned. "We oversee professional Quidditch as related to the British and Irish League." As in, the did not deal much with the International teams unless they happened to host the World Cup, which Mariel was going to fiercely fight for. Someone really dropped the ball last year. "You do know the 13 teams?" No, not a quiz today, but she was far more interested in what she knew professionally rather than amateurishly.

"Any other questions?" That was probably enough for the girl to digest for now. She would have enough work, but Mariel was planning on grooming her into her position. It was important for her to have the Quidditch side do a good job.

This was a lot of things being handed her way. It actually made her kind of nervous. Although she was usually good at supressing emotions, she allowed one look down at the books in her hands. She was going to read these and the ones that she picked up from the store. Because she knew information, but this was a whole new set of needed information. At least she knew the basics.

Okay, no Hogwarts quidditch. Shame, she thought it would be cool to see a kids match. See if the players got any better or worse since she left three years ago. Though with everything happening at the school, she figured it would be better to stay as far away as humanly possible. The brunette really didn't want to see any aging eleven year olds, thank you.

Any more questions? No. She was good for now. Actually, she was kind of feeling confident as far as reading was concerned, as long as she understood Quidditch, she was probably going to be fine. She just had to read. And quite possibly turn her room into a small workspace. Quidditch seemed to be everchanging. She wanted to keep up. Which also meant picking up an actual subscription to the Daily Prophet and not just reading her neighbors when they were done.

"No questions. I'm actually quite fine, thank you. And, I do know the thirteen teams of quidditch." She mostly knew them. Hopefully she would understand better when she read. Right now she was following all of four of them. Work mode was on.

"Thank you for everything." Was she able to go? Because she wanted to start reading at her desk. If there was nothing else to do. Because she needed to actually get reading so she wasn't up all night. These were to be read ASAP, correct? That's what Langen assumed.

Mariel kept green eyes on her newest employee as she leaned back a bit in her chair, watching her carefully as the girl glanced down at the manuals handed to her. She could only assume from the young woman's silence that she was trying to absorb all the information the Department Head laid on her. It was a lot to process at once, but Mariel felt it best to let the girl know what she was in for now so she could best be prepared and ask for help when it was needed. Not that Mariel was just going to let her take over her old position without being trained into it. Not when it was her own reputation on the line and Langen had nearly no experience. There was too much at stake. But she could grow into it.

And still no questions. Mariel raised a curious eyebrow as Langen expressed that sentiment, though she knew the girl had quite enough to digest for now. "Fantastic," she said lightly, displaying a faint smile as she claimed to know the region's teams. And if she didn't know them well, she would soon. Mariel would see to that. "Well, I'm certain something will come p in your reading or in your daily tasks... then you can just let me know." Not that she'd be leaving her so unsupervised anyway.

"There are a few games I'd like you to go to with me over the next couple weeks." She glanced down at her planner and flipped to the next page before looking up. "I'll schedule those and let you know for sure.." There were always some during business hours though many were not. She'd figure out what was most optimal. "But that's all for now... I'll let you get back to work," she added with a small smile. She supposed she kept her long enough if Langen really had no further questions.

The brown haired girl stood up, placing all of the things in her hands onto the chair for a moment. She wanted to show her boss some graditude. Mostly, because this was her boos, but also because Langen was filling her shows. And they felt like giant clown shoes at moments.

The twenty year old wasn't scared or anything, really she wasn't. It was more of the shock of 'oh my gosh I'm going to be doing my bosses old job for like the first time ever' feeling. And the chestnut eyed girl loved challenges. In Muggle school, she rigged a cardboard box to simulate an earthquake. That took two weeks of constant work. She couldn't even play tag with the other kids. And if theirs one thing the little girl inside of her loved, it was some outdoor games.

"Thank you so much. " The new employee straighted out her green dress and bent to grab the stack of information from the pile now on the chair. Smiling a small sand gracious smile that hopefully led its way to her eyes, Langen turned gently on her heel and walked away, her flat shoes barely making any noise. Yeah, she had worn heels to orientation. Big mistake. Besides being over six feet tall in heels, they were uncomfortable on her feet. You had to make do with thingswhen you were five seven sometimes and no heels was part of the deal.

Victoria had stepped out for a small break and while out she decided to go grab some lunch. Coming back into the hanger she headed for her bosses office. She was having an alright day compared to most, so social was allowed. Plus she had grabbed a sandwich and coffee for Mariel knowing or at least assuming she might not have taken a lunch break yet.

Plus she had a few things to talk to her best friend about. She wanted to know what all went on a few days ago when she came in rescheduling things. She knew it had to do with her journalist boyfriend so this made the thirty five year old even more curious. Plus she hadn't told her friend about her son setting her up on that blind date. Oh was Mariel going to have fun with this one.

She half rolled her eyes thinking about it as she knocked. "You busy?"

Mariel had quite the busy morning, so much so that she was quickly losing track of time. Stacks of paperwork to finish, schedules to approve -- she needed to at least make a dent in it before the meeting she had in the afternoon. And she had been meaning to stop by the patents workspace -- something she hadn't gotten to yet this morning.

A quick glance at her watch told her it was lunch time and she inwardly sighed. The 28 year old wished she had brought something to eat because she knew she would not have time to leave the premises, not if she hoped to get the bulk of this work done before her meeting. Where was an on site food court when you needed one? Hm, maybe she could leave for her meeting a few minutes early and grab something on the way.

She had just moved a stack of completed paperwork to the far corner of her desk when she heard a knock. And though she normally kept her office door open for the most part as she liked to think of herself as approachable being that she had worked with many of them as colleagues for years, she always appreciated the acknowledging knock. Looking up, Mariel allowed a small smile. "Vic.. come on in." Chuckling, she added, "Yes, but I actually needed to talk to you anyway." And if it wasn't now, it would probably be put off till tomorrow. "Besides, you're always welcome to stop in whenever you want. How are you doing today?" She gestured to a chair. No matter how busy she was, she always wanted to remain accessible for her employees and friends.

SPOILER!!: Mariel

Quote:

Originally Posted by emjay

Mariel had quite the busy morning, so much so that she was quickly losing track of time. Stacks of paperwork to finish, schedules to approve -- she needed to at least make a dent in it before the meeting she had in the afternoon. And she had been meaning to stop by the patents workspace -- something she hadn't gotten to yet this morning.

A quick glance at her watch told her it was lunch time and she inwardly sighed. The 28 year old wished she had brought something to eat because she knew she would not have time to leave the premises, not if she hoped to get the bulk of this work done before her meeting. Where was an on site food court when you needed one? Hm, maybe she could leave for her meeting a few minutes early and grab something on the way.

She had just moved a stack of completed paperwork to the far corner of her desk when she heard a knock. And though she normally kept her office door open for the most part as she liked to think of herself as approachable being that she had worked with many of them as colleagues for years, she always appreciated the acknowledging knock. Looking up, Mariel allowed a small smile. "Vic.. come on in." Chuckling, she added, "Yes, but I actually needed to talk to you anyway." And if it wasn't now, it would probably be put off till tomorrow. "Besides, you're always welcome to stop in whenever you want. How are you doing today?" She gestured to a chair. No matter how busy she was, she always wanted to remain accessible for her employees and friends.

A surprise look feel on her face, "You needed to talk to me?" Not that her mind went straight to something bad, but the way her days had went since the ministry opened she wouldn't be shocked either. Taking a seat she set the food and coffee in an open area, "I ran to a little cafe and brought you back something if you hadn't eaten yet." If she had no big deal really.

Seeing all the papers though the blonde soon wondered if she should have stopped by at all. "If you are busy we can talk later unless I've done something wrong." She figured she'd throw that out there. Maybe she did and didn't realize it. There were a few teams getting rather edgy about their schedules, but nothing that she thought she wasn't handling.

Plus work wasn't really why she was there, though she figured she should be. "Well I had something or a few things I wanted to talk to you about though they aren't really work related." Though if Mariel was swamped she could wait possibly for her news, but the incident the other day where she left quickly after her lunch break wasn't going to wait. She gave a knowing grin towards her friend, "SO... What did you need to speak to me about?" Let's get work out of the way first then she'd drill her friend for the information she was dying to find out.


Oh and she did ask a question didn't she. The blonde was distracted by her own reasons for being there. "I'm good. Had a very odd dinner date last night, but good." That would probably get her attention. "You doing alright?"

Mariel nodded at the question and opened her mouth to expand on just why she wanted to talk to her when green eyes fell on the food Vic had brought back with her. "Oh, you are a life saver," she said, getting up to take a sandwich and the coffee. "I'm starving, thanks. Seriously, what would I do without you?" See, this was exactly why she made the right decision seeing her today.. or if she would have called her in.

She gave her a grin as she returned to her seat, then waved a dismissive hand as she shook her head. "No, no, no.. now is perfect. I could use a teensy break." She took a bite of her sandwich then gave Vic an odd look at her words. Her do something wrong? Seriously... "Well.. I did want to talk to you about your job performance actually.." Mariel gave her a little smirk just to tease her a bit.

But Vic was here to visit.. or something else. She wasn't completely sure, though she assumed by not 'work-related' that she meant a social visit type of break, though maybe it was something else entirely. "Oh you did..?" she started, figuring she'd soon find out, though it seemed her friend wanted to wait on it. She nodded as she took a sip of coffee about to speak on the reason she wanted to see her today, when the other woman dropped a bombshell.

"Whoa.. wait.. what?" Oh work-related things were going to wait a minute and the brunette stared at the woman in front of her with something of a bemused expression. "A dinner date? With whom?" She was assuming that she meant not Charely, but this was the first of any potential dating she had heard. Vic got a vague little nod as Mariel thought over her words. "Oh, I'm fine.." She had some small, conflicting thoughts that she didn't really want to dwell on, but she was alright. "But.. I want to hear about this date first." Mhmm, everything else was on hold for now.

"A life saver? Nah just motherly instincts." She chuckled, "I am older than you and all so maybe we will call it older sister instincts or something." Not mother for Mariel she wasn't that old. "You would wither away and then I'd be without a friend and the girls would be without their godmother so that isn't allowed." She joked a bit. "Though I think she have someone now that would take my place in making sure you wouldn't." She eyed her, yes the journalist she needed some updated details.

Vic was glad she wasn't interrupting too much and if Mariel wanted to see her, but she was still curious as to why. She knew her head wasn't fully here, but she was doing her best and really had thrown herself into her work to avoid some things in her life. Though she knew the smirk was a joking one she couldn't help but feel uneasy even if it was just all in her head at Mariel's words. "my performance? Is this an evaluation I wasn't aware of?" She joked a bit more nervously than she wanted it to be. Maybe this was an evaluation or maybe her time away was not getting deadlines that she needed, though she thought she was hitting most of them. Her mind was probably just making it bigger than it really was.

Her laughter soon filled the office as she saw the reaction she knew she was going to get. Though she still wanted to be talking about work. Mariel wasn't seriously going to leave her hanging like this. She shook her head though, "Don't get any ideas." That's all she needed it was bad enough her son was involved. She rolled her eyes at the fine, "Fine I'll talk first, but then you are spilling. It's only fair." She got a little more comfortable leaning back in the chair. "I got a letter from Bart asking me to meet him in Hogsmeade that he would be with a professor so he had the permission. Here him and a friend set me up with his potions professor he adores right now. I got to the three broomsticks to find a note from him saying to enjoy." She shook her head laughing at the memory. "Cosgrach came and thankfully took humor in it as well, so we had dinner and talked a bit since we were there anyway." She had a great time really, but it was too soon for any of that.

Eating more of her sandwich and washing it down with a sip of coffee, Mariel nodded then chuckled a bit. "Well, whatever you want to call it, I'm grateful." Always so thoughtful, her friend was. Mariel herself wasn't so sure that she possessed such motherly instincts, though she found it amusing that Vic would relate that back to her being nowhere near old enough to be her mother. Though older sister would do just fine. "Oh we can't have that, now can we?" she laughed a bit as Vic continued. Not that she really thought she was in too much danger of that though, even if she was happy for the sustenance. The brunette lifted her eyes and smiled a bit, thinking about the person she knew she was referring to. "I suppose that's right. He does take pretty good care of me." Her thoughts became distracted a moment until she noticed the pointed look Vic was giving her. "What is that look for?" she asked, smiling innocently.

She was still smirking somewhat when Vic questioned her words. Wait... She didn't really think she was in trouble here or doing poorly, did she? The thought was rather amusing to Mariel and Vic did seem a bit nervous. Trying not to chuckle, she shrugged. "Something like that. You know I really do find you an invaluable member of this department." Especially with Mariel vacating Regulations, she knew that Vic really had to step up to help keep the Quidditch side of things running smoothly. "I was thinking more like offering you a promotion." She doubted she would be expecting that maybe, but she did hope she would be receptive to the idea.

She was awfully interested in hearing about this date, however, and she was willing to hold off any other work talk to know the details. How did she not know that Vic had a potential suitor? She gave her sort of a bemused smile as her friend laughed at her reaction, waiting to hear the details. "Ideas? You're the one who went on a date.." she laughed a little. Wasn't like she was trying to set her up or anything, but apparently someone else was. Her eyes widened slightly as Vic relayed the story and she couldn't help but to laugh a little more at the end. "That sneaky little devil.. Bart set you up on a date with his Potions Professor?" Oh that was too much. Once she was done laughing, she turned her amused grin back onto Vic. "So.. for a set-up, how was it? Was he good company? Good-looking?" What was his name, Cosgrach? That was interesting.. but she wanted to know details.

“It’s no problem really, but Mariel you should really think about eating during the day. You have been working so hard since you got this position.” She worried about her friend. She knew it couldn’t be easy doing this position. The stress alone had to be high, so not eating on top of that was just not healthy. She laughed and shook her head, “No we can’t. Those girls need a strong female influence.” smiling Vic knew she really wasn’t the one to show them that, but Mariel was such a great influence for any child. “You know darn well what that look is for.” another laugh started thinking about how her friend didn’t give much when it came to him. “I haven’t had any updates about lover boy and you need to start spilling.” She wasn’t taking no for an answer.

Her laughter stopped as she listened to Mariel’s words, invaluable? “Well I’m not sure about that. I bet plenty could probably do my job better.” Especially in the last few months. She had thrown herself into the work, but there seemed to be more of it. Not that she minded she loved the position she just missed her friend next to her. Her brow raised at the next sentence Mariel said and shock was in her voice, “a promotion?” She certainly wasn’t expecting that. She knew she worked hard and did her best, but really she didn’t think others noticed her much around the office. Mariel of course did because she was her friend, but this wasn’t just because of that, right? Her self-conscious issues questioned things, but she just kept quiet and let her boss speak.

“It wasn’t a date, we were set up. It was just dinner.” Was she defending herself to Mariel or herself at this point. It wasn’t a date, she didn’t know it was going to be a date, but they did have dinner, talk, and had fun. A blush found its way to her cheeks. “He really was sneaky, he idolizes this man. I’ve never seen Bart take to an adult like this. Not even me or his father and the fact that he actually thought about Cosgrach and me together. It was very sweet of him, but it’s just not the time.” She still loved Charely and was still getting over that, but it was such nice company. Her smile grew as Mariel started asking questions. “It was.. awkward at first, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. We talked about different things, school, what’s been going on this term, Bart, family. The usual get to know you type of stuff.” She thought about that evening and all they did talk about. “He was very nice company, I had a really good time. He did ask to meet again, though I think he was just being polite and yes he is very handsome.” She wasn’t going to lie he was cute. Older, but she had always went towards older.

Mariel finished off the last of the sandwich and downed some ore of her coffee before looking up with a small smile. "Oh I do.. I just forgot to bring my lunch today." She shrugged a little. It happened, but normally she ate while she worked or actually took a break. It was a rare thing for her to not actually eat at all. Well, that was great that Vic thought she was a positive influence on her children and she got a bigger smile at the sentiment. And a chuckle as her friend continued. "I guess I keep that part of my life pretty quiet, don't I?" Vic was one of her closest friends, maybe the closest friend she had.. it wasn't like she was intentionally keeping anything from her, she was just used to being something of a private person. "I've not felt this way about anyone in a really long time," she admitted, biting her lip as she grew lost in thought.

"But I suppose you really want to know about what happened the other day," she drew her eyes back to Vic as she was snapped back to reality. She took a deep breath letting it out in a sigh, figuring just coming out and saying it would work best. "He was arrested and I needed to go bail him out. But then charges were never filed so bail wasn't needed.. I still needed to get him out of there though." She shook her head a bit at the memory. It was still rather infuriating to her. Then she took a glance at Vic to gauge her reaction. Shocked yet? "He really didn't do anything wrong though. The whole thing was so ridiculous, you wouldn't even believe how blown out of proportion the MLE made this." Mariel frowned, knowing there were still issues stemmed from this event that had yet to be resolved.

If Vic had questions, she'd answer them, but for now she had work matters to discuss as well. "A promotion," she confirmed with a nod and offered her a genuine smile. "I feel like I need to restructure a few things in the Department for better organization." Did Vic know she thrived on organization? She was sure she did. "Anyway, I'd like to have someone manage the Quidditch division of the department and I'd like that someone to be you. No one else on that side knows the field like you do and you have an exemplary work record." The choice was a simple one for her and she hoped that Victoria knew that it really had nothing to do with their friendship. She sat back giving her an expectant look, awaiting her answer. "It comes with a wage increase of course."

But this dinner date, set-up, whatever, was really holding Mariel's attention and she listened eagerly. How interesting that Bart was actually trying to be a little matchmaker for his mother. From what she knew, the boy didn't much like Charely.. she found it rather interesting that he was eager for someone else. But she did agree with Vic that it might not be the right time. "Too soon maybe," she nodded. "Especially after a relationship like that." They might as well have been married, having kids together and lived together. She couldn't imagine she was too eager to just jump into something else. "Well, it's good that you had a nice time.. and good-looking is always a plus," she grinned. Didn't need to be anything substantial, maybe just a little fun. "Oh..? I wouldn't be so quick to think he was just being polite. Maybe he had a good time too." Men didn't tend to ask out women just to be polite.

Victoria sort of just nodded, everyone forgot a time or two so it really was no big deal as long as Mariel wasn’t making a habit of it or anything. She thought her friend did great work, but was always afraid she was working too hard. Especially right now when her personal life seemed to be a bit on the exciting side. “You do, which isn’t fair to a friend that wants details.” She laughed a bit, but it soon turned into an aww sound. “Mariel that’s so sweet. He better be feeling the same way, because if not I will harm him.” Yes if that man ever thought he could hurt her he had another thing coming.

This statement made her move a little further forward in her chair, “Of course I do and you know you are going to tell me.” because Vic wouldn’t stop until she did. Not that she wanted to gossip about it or anything, but as the best friend she deserved to know what was going on. Her eyes widened though with the explanation. “Arrested? For what?” She was glad charges weren’t filed, but still what would have gotten him arrested. Blown out of proportion. Hmm that was interesting. “So you fell for a bad boy then?” it was certainly teasing time.

A promotion, well this was unexpected, but it did make the thirty five year old smile a bit as well as blush a little. “I don’t know what to say.” She really was speechless. “Well organization is a plus for this department especially the quidditch side.” Her and Mariel had it pretty much down to a T when they worked together, but now that she was the head of all sports Vic was trying to keep it all in order. It was rough without their offices, but she thought she was doing fairly well and it seemed Mariel did as well. “Manage the Qudditch Division?” She thought for a moment before nodding a bit, “I would be honored to do it really. You are just sure you want me?” She absolutely loved her job so why wouldn’t she take on a more leadership role in it. Though her nagging side questioned whether she could do it, but she deep down knew she was already doing most of what that entailed. The pay increase was a nice bonus as well especially right now getting back on her feet alone. “Thank you so much for this opportunity.” She was very shocked and grateful. It was amazing really.

She laughed at Mariel’s reaction it really was the same look she was probably giving after the date or whatever you called it went on. “Yes I think so. If I ever do get back into a relationship it will be slow. I’m not wanting to rush into anything again. That was just too much to handle.” It was where the problems started she felt. Though it wasn’t an issue until her own issues came up. “He is a very sweet man. I had met him at a quidditch match before that so he wasn’t fully a stranger. He seems to love Bart just as much as Bart loves him. For Bart to love an adult this much it’s just astonishing.” She was still taken by it. “Yes he is. He’s about a year or two younger than Charely.” She always fell for the older ones for some odd reason. She glanced at Mariel for a second before changing her look towards the desk. “Come on Mariel why on earth would he want to ask me out again. I have three kids, two vary failed relationships, I see a healer, my son is Bart. Where in that do you see great catch?” She was not even going to get her hopes up in finding anyone that could be relationship worthy, honestly she didn’t know the point anymore. “It was very kind of him to offer though.” She did smile thinking about Cosgrach, but still he wouldn’t want her.

Mariel lifted her eyes, brought out of her distracted thoughts at the aww sound Victoria made and she gave her a little smile. She had never really thought of her personal life as aww worthy but she was currently enjoying it. Maybe it was. She smiled a little bigger thinking about it. "Oh.. I really think he does. He's told me as much." And she did believe it. Mariel knew his track record with long term relationships for the most part and also thought she knew her significance to him. She chuckled as Vic continued. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I don't let men hurt me." Not anymore.

She figured Vic would want details, really any friend would, and she was going to expand on it if only a little more. It was an annoying situation, but nothing she wanted to dwell on. She'd rather move past it. "I believe the charges technically would have been assault," she started with an unimpressed tone, but she did want to explain at least that much of it. "I think he got a little jealous at first, actually, thinking another man was vying for my attention. Angry words were exchanged between them, then this other man.. he's an Auror for the MLE.. brought up some really personal information. I'm certain it was meant to be a crack at Jorge's character, but it was something really upsetting for me. He knew that and got defensive." She shrugged a bit and let her thoughts wander. As much as she did not care for the way things turned out, she did find it sweet that he would come to her supposed rescue. "There was a little push and some more words.. then he was arrested. They held him a little while, but in the end I'm sure they knew how ridiculous it all was and ended up not filing any charges." Still a huge inconvenience and turned into such a circus.

The brunette's thoughts became distracted once again, unable to help certain things from entering her mind as Vic responded to her offer. It really was surprising to the blonde, wasn't it? Mariel offered her a distant smile. "Of course I want you to do it. I can't think of anyone else to fill the role." She really was the best person for the job. "Really.. don't be modest about it. You deserve this and I think you would be fantastic." Great, that was all settled then. They just needed to get back into their building to get back in order. Hopefully that wouldn't be much longer. She was growing far too impatient.

And though she couldn't help the focus her own relationship her mind was currently trying to draw, Mariel was still interested in this date, set-up or not. "I think that is a very good idea," she nodded. "Relationships are often best when approached with some prudence." Well.. depending on what exactly you were looking for. She did feel like she knew this from her own experience. She listened a little more as Vic gave a bit more detail about the man and Bart's relationship with him, giving her a soft smile. "Sounds like he's pretty taken with him to go as far as to set you two up on a date." That was remotely interesting. She frowned as she continued. "Are you kidding me right now? You are beautiful, smart, thoughtful.. need I go on? So you have a little baggage," she chuckled with a shrug. "Who doesn't?" Sure, Mariel didn't have kids but she had her own issues. Everyone had something. "Besides, men don't ask women out to be polite." That had never been her experience.

Victoria couldn’t be happier for Mariel. She was truly happy with this journalist and it was great. It was always nice to see her friends happy. “Well I’m glad. I might come off a smaller, but no one hurts my friends.” She wasn’t sure what she could really do to the man, but if he hurt Mariel she’d find out. Shifting a bit uncomfortable in her seat as Mariel said about a not letting a man hurt her. That was good she wish she was more like her friend.

This was turning out to be interesting. “Assault charges?” Goodness who was this man her friend was dating. He had to have done something awful to get that put on him and jealousy, did Mariel really know what she was getting herself into. This didn’t seem like someone to get involved with, though as she kept listening she was shocked to hear someone in law enforcement would have done that. “Wow was it just by accident or the auoror really was trying to get at him?” This was all just a bit alarming if you asked her. “A push? He was arrested for a push?” That didn’t seem like something to be arrested for. “Well I’m glad it ended alright.” At least the man wasn’t still in jail or anything.

She let herself smile a bit thinking. A promotion she had been in the department for four years and she loved her work, but it did feel a bit good to be promoted for her work. Managing the quidditch side of things. It was exciting if she really let herself think about it. “Oh well I’ll do my best.” She just grinned happily.

Chuckling a bit like a school girl Vic couldn’t believe they were even talking about this. Yes slow was the way to go, ” but really it doesn’t matter. I’m not even going to do that again I don’t think. I’m fine alone raising my children. I don’t need a man to do that.” She wanted her friends to find love and happiness that way, but she was giving up on it for herself. “He is, I’m not sure what it is about Cosgrach that really got to Bart, but he talks of him a lot. I think it’s great maybe it will be a future inspiration in a career for him.” That would be nice now wouldn’t it? She blushed a bit as Mariel went on about nice things. “I guess” was about all she was going to be able to say. “Some do probably didn’t want to ruin Bart’s hopes, or just being friendly.” No way did the man actually want to take her out.

"Well, I appreciate that," Mariel smiled at Victoria as she expressed her sentiment. Not that she thought it was necessary, but it was nice to know she had such a good friend who had her back if she would ever need it. She watched the other woman process what she had just told her and she nodded a bit here and there in confirmation. An assault charge was something shocking to hear and Jorge was far from a violent man. She emitted a small, humorless laugh at the question. "No.. he was really trying to push his buttons. And to be honest.. I know if I wasn't there, it wouldn't have been a big deal over the words that were said." She distractedly played with a quill sitting on her desk. "It was the fact that those words made me upset and he reacted, protective of my feelings." Mariel couldn't help but to feel slightly guilty over that, though she knew it wasn't her fault, and she did adore him immensely for wanting to come to her rescue in a sense. Her eyes met Vic's as she questioned the reason for the proposed charges and she nodded. "Yes.. ridiculous, isn't it?" She could not believe how out of hand it had gotten. And she supposed it ended alright, though there still seemed to be things up in the air and she did not like that feeling at all.

Victoria also seemed to be processing the prospect of her new position and seemed to be accepting of it. "Good, all settled then. We can talk more about the logistics of the job later." Hopefully once they were back in a decent working space and she wanted her to get used to the idea a minute. Besides, talking about men was holding her interest.. funny since she was usually all about work. It wasn't like none was getting done though, so she permitted herself a few more minutes for personal talk. "No, you're right," she agreed. "You don't need a man for any of that. You can be a strong, independent woman without one." Merlin knew Mariel thought the same way and certainly wouldn't admit to depending on one. But she would admit she very much enjoyed the company of one certain man and was quite happy being with him. She nodded a bit as Vic continued, though she was slightly distracted in her own thoughts, then she raised a speculative eyebrow as she looked at her. "Doubtful. You really should give yourself some credit, you know. Of course, you said it yourself, you're not looking to get into a relationship right now. So why not get to know him without the pressure of that." Might be a new friend or develop into something more down the road.. when she was good and ready. Or nothing at all.